Barnabas rock Astoria with late goals

However, that situation changed dramatically in the final five minutes as St. Barnabas rocked Astoria for two goals. St. Barnabas will be quite happy with the win, but they will have to step up their performance if they wish to hoist the Junior Cup later in the year. Astoria are still lurking around the middle of the standings and still in the hunt, but they will rue this loss, as victory was within their grasp.
St. Barnabas were more assertive in the opening quarter. Their beaverish full forward and Sean Carbin had a brace of points early on. However, despite dominating in most sectors, the Bronx boys were finding it hard to increase their tally. Midway through the period, Ronan Garvey skillfully chipped up a ball as he raced through the middle to fire over a classy score. At this stage Astoria seemed to find their rhythm and their range. Their lanky midfielder Leo Fallon lofted over a long-range effort. A minute later, he fired over another minor with the other foot. Then, Nestor Allen got in on the scoring act after one of his trademark zigzag runs. Now Astoria looked like a transformed team as St. Barnabas struggled despite setting the early pace. The Astoria defense, particularly O’Brien and Conroy, seemed to have the measure of the St. Barnabas attack. Five minutes before the break, Astoria edged ahead with a point from John Rabbit. Astoria wasted another chance to go further ahead when Mike Coyne was fouled after a good run from defense. Then just before the break, Ronan Garvey leveled, leaving the scoreline at 4 points each.
The football continued in the second half at a rather pedestrian pace with both sides guilty of poor finishing. At times it seemed as dull as the weather, with just the closeness of the scoring keeping it interesting. Astoria’s Allen pushed the Queen’s boys in front from a free after being fouled by Pat Lyons. The crafty Allen can be a handful for any defender, but the St. Barnabas fullback marshaled him well. Kevin Kennedy increased Astoria’s lead with a point in the 8th minute. At this stage St. Barnabas seemed to have lost their shape as Astoria dictated matters in most sectors of the field. However, there was little to show on the scoreboard for their dominance. Indeed, it was halfway through the period before St. Barnabas registered a score, a point from Sean Carbin after being well set up by Paddy Reddington. Then Allen was uncharacteristically wide with a free, leaving the minimum between the sides.
Over the next 10 minutes, it nip and tuck with neither side showing any great affinity for the target. Then the industrious Carbin hit Ronan Garvey with a precision ball on the run and the lethal left footer lashed it to the net to put the Bronx boys in front by 1-5 to 0-6. A minute later, Tom Flynn supplied the coup de grace with another goal. Ronan Garvey finished out the scoring with a point leaving two goals between the sides. That two-minute scoring blitz sent the Bronx boys home elated, while the Queens boys went away with the opposite emotions.
Man of the Match: Ronan Garvey
St. Barnabas: Barry Lynch, J.P. Kirwin, Pat Lyons, Keith McMahon, Brian Montgomery, Eddie Greenan, Sean Moyles, Dave Garvey, Jack Meaney, Terence Flynn, Paddy Reddington, Thomas Flynn (1-0), Ronan Garvey (1-3), Sean Carbin (0-3), Jonathan Daly.
Astoria: Eugene Kyne, Gerry O’Brien, Tim Lynch, Mike Conroy, Bernard Traenor, Niall Sugrue, Damian Ward, Leo Fallon (0-2), Tommy O’Connor, Niall McGuinness, John Rabbit (0-1), Michael Coyne, Nestor Allen (0-2), Kevin Kennedy (0-1), Dave Kerry.